In our previous post, “Relocation 101: Three Things to Consider When Job Searching Nationally,” Adrienne Boertjen covered some of the essentials to think about when expanding your job search outside of your current region. This was written particularly with graduate students and new professionals in mind. For this current post, I will cover financial considerations and logistics for those more seasoned professionals, especially those looking to relocate with partners, children, and / or other family members.

1. COST OF LIVING: I use Sperling’s Best Places Cost of Living Comparison to enter in my current salary and town in which I live in order to get an estimated comparable salary and find the related costs associated with living in the city in which I am interested in working. If you are looking at a potential promotion to a mid-level or senior level position in the field, not only should you expect an increase to what you are currently earning, but the pay should align with the cost of living in that particular area. Don’t dupe yourself into a situation in which you are asked for your current salary numbers and the offering institution offers a modest increase to that number. You need to be able to make a living and thrive in the the new community so don’t sell yourself short. There are wide fluctuations in the price of housing in various markets all over the United States so be prepared.

2. SALARIES: Do your homework on what the average salary is for the position you are being offered and factor in the cost of living difference. HigherEdJobs.com has a nice listing of various salary surveys that you can view. If you are looking at a state school, salaries may be publicly posted online so you can get an idea of what current administrators are making there along with other public officials. Some regional newspapers and “watchdog” groups also publish public salaries, which you can search for online (e.g., PennWatch is one example for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania). In the case of institutions that have collective bargaining units (i.e., unions), you may be able to find a copy of the associated contract for the type of position you are applying. In the contract, they typically list out the schedule of salaries for various levels of position and seniority. An example for one of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education bargaining units can be seen HERE. Also, many job descriptions, particularly on the institution’s human resources webpage, will include a position salary level signified by a payroll code. If you dig deeper through their HR site, you may be able to find a chart or listing of those payroll codes and the corresponding salary ranges. Keep in mind that not all have this however.

One time with my own job search, I found the organizational chart of the public institution for where I was interviewing. With the names of the search committee members in hand along with the key administrators in the division, I was able to search their salaries online very easily. Seeing that the supervisor of the position I was interviewing for was earning roughly what I would negotiate for, I knew that it would be highly unlikely that I would be offered nearly what I thought would be fair with my credentials and experience. Given the highly expensive cost of living with the location of the institution, I knew it wouldn’t be financially viable for me if offered the position so I didn’t get my heart set on it.

You have to be able to weigh all of the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits associated with working at a particular institution in a specific part of the country. Obviously, salary isn’t everything, but you need to be able to pay your bills. If it doesn’t make sense, walk away from it.

3. LIVING IN VS. LIVING OUT: There are many special considerations when you are a Residence Life staff member in regards to living in vs. living out. This can also include non-ResLife administrators in other roles that require you to live in or simply give you the option to do so. As any ResLifer will tell you, there are both many benefits and drawbacks to living on campus.

Housing Expenses: If you are currently living in and looking to change to a “live out” position, you need to look at your current financial situation and how that will change by what is being offered with a new position. Earning $35,000 as a live-in hall director in the rural Midwest will most definitely be worth “more” financially than a $50,000 live-out assistant director position in New York City. Living out means that you will need to rent or mortgage housing along with all associated costs, including, but not limited to, utilities and transportation. So don’t jump at something simply because it’s a position promotion. You do not want to move and then be unable to afford your living situation and then have to job search all over again or acquire debt that you do not necessarily need.

On-Campus Culture: If you are currently living out and now considering a position that is live-in, you need to understand that there is a distinct culture with living among and near college students. I myself and my family have had (and continue to have) positive experiences with living in. The conveniences with living in a university community are numerous. With easy access to educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities, it’s pretty awesome! Also, not having to pay rent or utilities is definitely the biggest plus (if, of course, that is a part of your compensation package). Additionally, I don’t have to worry about lawn care, and all of the other expenses and hassles that come with having your own home. I was a previous home owner prior to moving back in so I know. However, living in is not for everyone, nor for others’ partners or their children. There isn’t the level of privacy and anonymity that you would get with living out so that’s something you need to keep in mind. For me the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, but this is something you will need to consider if faced with this option.

Family & Partner Policies: Those who are not married, but with a partner, may need to take dig deeper to find the institution’s policy on this type of arrangement for living on their campus. The same goes for married couples and children as well. What one institution finds copacetic may not necessary be permitted at another college or university. Find this out ahead of time well before considering a move because you definitely do not want to be surprised when you show up with a packed moving van. I have a close friend and colleague who shared with me that he had a phone interview with an institution and started talking about his fiancee (now wife). The committee chairperson made the remark that they did not permit live-in professionals to have other occupants living with them, including spouses. At that point my colleague respectfully ended the conversation because their non-cohabitation policy was simply a “deal breaker.”

Apartments.com & Realtor.com: I use these apps on my phone to quickly look up the general price of housing for the needs of my family related to institutions I may be interested in applying to. I can quickly rule out some potential opportunities simply by seeing how much it costs to live in a particular area. This can save a lot of time and heartache for both myself and my family because the job searching process can be both time-consuming and anxiety provoking. Why look at something that simply is not going to be realistically affordable?

4. RELOCATION EXPENSES & TEMPORARY HOUSING: Some institutions will reimburse you for relocation costs while others will not. Typically you won’t see this for entry-level positions, but it never hurts to ask. Picking up yourself and potentially your entire family is very stressful and can be an expense you normally don’t consider when job searching. If possible, see if the hiring institution can provide temporary housing for you on campus while you work out the logistics of getting settled into your permanent housing situation. This can be an easy sell because it will help you to better focus on the job during the work week while you can spend the weekend searching for various options. I myself asked for that when moving across Pennsylvania to a new institution. I had to sell my house while my wife and kids lived temporarily with my in-law’s. The university graciously permitted me to live in a residence hall room at no charge for the summer until I could get things squared away for permanent housing.

5. SCOUTING THE AREA: It is imperative that you take time to scout the area of the institution in which you are looking to relocate. This can be done before, during, and after the on-campus interview process. My recommendation is to always steer clear of an institution that offers the job without actually bringing you to campus. Even if you are familiar with or visited the campus previously, or even attended there as a student, being offered a job only after having a phone or Skype-type interview is clearly a red flag! Not only won’t you get to meet your peers, staff, and students in person, but you will not get a chance to explore the campus and local community.

Rental Vehicle: Typically I will rent a car after flying in when I am offered an on-campus interview. This allows me to cruise around the area and explore the community in which the university is located. You can come a day early or stay a day later if you need extra time to accomplish this. Sometimes the college or university will accommodate your request for the extra day. When exploring, I am particularly interested in looking at housing, shopping options, entertainment and recreation venues, and the general locations of schools for my kids. I want to know what the basics of day-to-day life would be like living in that community: Where would we go grocery shopping? Are there things for my kids to do? Would I have to pay a bunch of tolls to get around? What is traffic like? What would my commute be like? Do I think my wife would like it here? How much of a hassle would it be for family to visit if traveling from the airport?

Google Maps / Street View: If you cannot explore the area, you can also use the Google Maps Street View option to see what many areas look like. Not all towns and streets are always covered, but you can get a pretty decent idea of what the surrounding area of a college or university looks like. I do this ahead of time to get a lay of the land and to potentially figure out something to do in the evening(s) with the free time I would have during a multi-day interview process (e.g., movie theater, brew pub, bookstore, sporting event, concert, etc.)

What are some other strategies and tips that you have used when job searching nationally? Please share your comments below or simply retweet this post and add your thoughts to the tweet.

Having been in Student Affairs for a long time now, I have met many fantastic and inspiring professionals from all over the world. I have learned many wonderful things, which have made me a better higher education professional (and person!) Some of those lessons, however, have been difficult ones and actually have made me an even more dedicated and resolved Student Affairs professional.

Here are the 10 Difficult Lessons I Learned in Student Affairs:

1. Not Everyone Values Student Development – Just like employees in any other industry besides higher education, everyone has different goals and motivations for doing what they do. The same is true for employees in higher education. While it may seem bizarre to a Student Affairs professional that a college professional would not be interested in student development, some see the study and practice of student development as frivolous and not worthy of attention or resources.

2. The Grass Isn’t Always Greener at Other Institutions – Student lifers rank up there with professional athletes that are traded from team to team when it comes to transitioning from one institution to another. Various reasons, include seeking a better salary, more responsibility, or to be closer to family. Some staffers have the impression that the path a new school is lined with gold. What they can come to find out is that their new situation may not be any better than from where they just came. While there are some places that may be better than others, all colleges and universities have problems, which is something to keep in mind when looking for a new place to work.

3. Most Staff Are Not Trained in Leadership & Supervision – I find that many colleagues at other institutions share their frustration with their institution’s leadership. Frustrations range from having supervisors with challenging personalities and those who provide unclear direction to others who are “buddy-buddy” with select employees or who are downright abusive. Unfortunately, most supervisors in all fields never had any formal education or training in supervising people. Many supervisors learn from previous poor role models and can apply behaviors of stereotypical archetypes of leaders they see on TV and in movies (i.e., coach, military officer, entrepreneur, politician, etc.)

4. Most Faculty & Staff Could Care Less about Student Development Theory – Years ago, I once had an engineering professor at a social event ask me what exactly I was learning in my higher education doctoral program. He was actually perplexed that an academic program like this actually existed. While student development theory is only a small part of a higher ed doctoral program, it helps to inform our practice and should be the basis for how we operate. However, most faculty and staff have never heard of Astin, Kuh, Tinto, Pascarella, and / or Terenzini nor put any credence into the study of students’ time at college.

5. For Some, It’s Just For a Paycheck – For most of us, it is our career and our passion. For others, working at a college or university is simply a job. While some of us are inspired and enthusiastic about our careers, others find it an end to a means.

6. Student Affairs is Seen as the “Icing on the Cake” – In particularly difficult times with a fragile enrollment environment and the increasing costs associated with a college education, student affairs can be viewed as a luxury. When it’s time to make budget cuts, extracurricular activities are an easy target.

7. Professional Development Can Be Seen as a Glorified “Vacation” – One year I was not permitted to attend the ACPA Convention and was told, “You have already been to one of those” as if it was like going to some amusement park. Now granted, I have seen many professional staffers blow off sessions at conferences and go site-seeing in the host city, but for the vast majority of us, off-site professional development opportunities are for continuous improvement, collaboration, education, and networking.

8. Politics Can Supersede Student Development – In the 15 years I have been a student affairs professional, I have seen university politics that have been antithetical to the spirit of student development or learning (or simple ethics to be honest). I recently read an excellent blog post called The Dirty Secret of Student Affairs by Christian Cho, which specifically speaks to this dynamic. While politics definitely has its place in colleges and universities, they can also be disconcerting for new and eager student affairs professionals.

9. “Cronyism” & Nepotism Is Pervasive – While some may call it networking, others consider it nepotism and cronyism. Cronyism is the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority without proper regard to their qualifications. Likewise, nepotism is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. A related practice is the pejorative “inbreeding,” in which an institution only hires those that have graduated from there. This can be challenging and frustrating especially for new professionals looking to advance their careers.

10. The Most Logical Decisions Are Not Always Made – Like any bureaucratic organization, colleges and universities have multiple layers of decision-makers with varying degrees of authority. Additionally, those decision-makers come with different agendas, opinions, and experiences from one another. Given those dynamics, the decision-making process can end up having a mind of its own.

The intent behind this post is not to discourage or frighten graduate students nor to kowtow to experienced professionals. Conversely, I hope to inspire new and veteran student affairs staffers to create a better university environment and experience for both employees and students.

Please share some of the difficult lessons you have learned from your time in Student Affairs.

Over the past two decades I have been involved not only with my own personal job searches, but have also been a participant in university search committees and have have hired full-time staff myself as a supervisor. In that time I have witnessed, personally experienced, and have had friends and colleagues deal with many unscrupulous and, in many cases, misleading hiring practices in student affairs, particularly because an institution already has a candidate in mind.

Below are some “Tricks and Traps” in Student Affairs hiring practices that you should be on the lookout for. Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that a school could still be running a legit search even if they display some of the following methods. “If it looks like a duck and smells like a duck, most likely it’s a duck. But it could be a goose.”

Suspicious Position Description – Be weary of position descriptions requirements that are out of the norm and seem to be crafted for a specific individual or do not properly align with the norm for that position nationally. Generally there is a standard by which various requirements align with corresponding positions. For example, an entry level resident director at a public institution typically needs 1 – 3 years of experience with a degree in student affairs, counseling, higher education or closely related field. So if you see requirements for an RD position listing a degree in business management, accounting, nursing or something else unfitting, don’t get your heart set on it. Or, more simply, steer clear of this position. Granted, if the position is related to a particular academic college / department and / or specific living-learning community you could see requirements that are out of the norm.

Position Inflation – Recently a colleague shared a personal example in which he applied for an assistant director position at a brand name institution. When having an initial phone interview, it was revealed that the institution was paying $24,000 for the position, which was totally unexpected considering that it was “master’s preferred” and two years experience. As someone once told me, position titles come cheap. It doesn’t cost an institution anything to change a title and make it sound more prestigious or higher up in the organizational food change even though it doesn’t pay much and / or have any broad supervisory authority.

Fishy Application Timeline – Application and interview timelines can give a clue whether or not a college or university is serious about hiring someone from outside the institution. A public posting that has an application deadline of less than 14 days (and especially in cases of only 7 days or less) should raise suspicion. Additionally, an institution that only posts a position on their own human resources website, but not in nationally-recognized venues, such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Higheredjobs.com, and / or regional publications is probably a strong indication that they are only hiring internally.

No Response – Worse than getting a “no” is getting zero response from a college or university. After putting the time and effort into crafting a cover letter and possibly a lengthy online application process, the least they could do is give you the boilerplate “Thanks, but no thanks” email or letter. With the economy being what it is, it’s an employer’s market so colleges and universities can pretty much handle searches how they like (without doing anything grossly illegal of course). Right, wrong, or indifferent, you need to be able to stay resilient and move forward with any offers that do come your way. Don’t wait around for something that may ultimately end up in a failed search or a hire that they simply didn’t inform all applicants of.

Internal Candidates – There’s nothing more unnerving than finding out that someone on the search committee is also candidate for the job or was a candidate that was recently rejected. Not only is this clearly unethical, but causes an unfair and biased opinion against your candidacy for the opening. I’ve also heard colleagues share stories of being interviewed by a search committee with an internal candidate who was clearly adversarial during the interview process by asking over-the-top questions and being generally unfriendly. If you experience this, don’t take it personally. Be prepared, give your best effort, and stay professional. If there is a nasty internal candidate, don’t engage them. Remain calm, answer their questions, and proceed with grace.

Artificial Community Visits – While it’s typically customary for a campus host to give you a tour of campus, there is also the possibility that you may be invited to dinner or evening events with some of the members of the search committee. Additionally, depending upon the culture of the institution’s search protocols, you may be given a tour of the local community to get an idea of what the surrounding area looks like, which becomes particularly important if they offer you the position. However, don’t put too much credence into this process because it does not necessarily mean they are going to give you the job. Unfortunately, this can simply be an exercise to kill time rather than having you sit in the hotel (or whatever accommodations they may give you) or to keep you occupied while they interview another candidate they have there the same day. During one campus interview a few years ago, a university actually had a real estate agent take me on a tour of the community and show me various houses in their market that were for sale. Unfortunately it ended up being a waste of time, particularly for the real estate agent, because not only did they not offer me the position, but they didn’t offer it to any of the candidates interviewed, but rather offered it to someone on the search committee. (Yes…that’s a true story!)

While going through a student affairs search process may be a daunting process, don’t lose hope. Keep applying and making yourself more marketable by expanding your skills and experience. While there are some dirty tricks out there related to the hiring process, there are also many other institutions that run a fair and ethical search looking for the best candidate.

Last night I had the opportunity to spend time at the ACPA awards reception with a former student who is now an accomplished colleague and a close friend. Opportunities like this inspire me and make me further appreciate the joys of being a Student Affairs professional.

At the convention we heard from both Kohl Crecelius and Erik Qualman about making a positive impact upon others and leaving a legacy. That is the heart of what it means to be a Student Affairs professional and a servant leader. We all have the opportunity to impact people in many life-changing ways. I, like most of you, want to serve others by enabling them to be stronger, more prepared, and to be able to thrive both personally and professionally. Furthermore, I want to influence others to be servant leaders.

Use the time at the convention to connect with others and found how they serve their employees, their institution, their students, and their communities. What are new and innovative ways they are serving others? In kind, share your own successes and even your frustrations and gain some feedback on how you can do better (and more!)

As you explore your own journey as a Student Affairs professional and servant leader, please let me know how I can help you. I am always willing to listen, lend advice, and collaborate.

1. Job Hopping – While switching jobs is endemic in higher education, job hopping is typically not a good idea. Chasing money, position titles, or trying to find the perfect institution that emulates your alma mater can unintentionally make for a sketchy-looking resume to prospective employers down the road. A resume that illustrates a job for every one or two years can communicate that you are hard to get along with, never happy, or “too big for your britches.” No one goes from being a resident director to a vice president of student affairs overnight. Promotions, responsibility, and a higher salary come from experience and patience. “Paying your dues” is very true in our field.

Friendly Advice:

Do your best with where you are at. While your current work situation may not be the best, use it as an opportunity to further develop your skills and your experience. If it is a negative experience, do your best to turn it into a positive for you (no matter how difficult that may seem!)

If you are excelling in your current role, ask for more responsibility without the expectation of increased income, which typically should not be expected anyway given the current financial climate of higher education in the U.S. This can only help you in the next step in your career path. Create the experience you want to showcase on your resume and portfolio.

2. Getting Involved in Negative Politics – Colleges and universities are rife with politics in both academic and student affairs. Unfortunately, negative politics can consume your time and energy and get you away from your department’s mission and vision. While it’s easier said than done to avoid the politics of your institution, ultimately you are in control of how to interact with your colleagues and contribute to the success of your students. That’s why we do what we do, right?

Friendly Advice:

Simply put, stay away from those who exhibit negative energy. There’s enough challenges and complications within the institution outside of negative attitudes and drama. Contribute your time and energy in creating solutions and not more problems.

3. Negative Social Media Presence – Social media is now ubiquitous and entwines both our personal and professional lives. Gone are the days when all that a prospective employer knew about you was from what you listed on a paper resume. Many employers screen your online presence, and in some cases, will expect that you will have a positive and impactful presence online related to your department and the field in general. We should be role models for our students after all, right?

Friendly Advice:

Understand that it is extremely difficult to have a completely separate personal and professional life online. Given this, the best practice is to keep your online presence as positive, professional, welcoming, and “restrained” as possible.

Social media outlets are not the place for uninhibited opinion and “diarrhea of the mind,” particularly if you are looking to land the next best position in student affairs.

4. Failing to Seize Opportunities – There will be the proverbial “two roads diverged” at some point in your career in which you will be faced with a choice to participate in various opportunities. This could be anything from committees, travel, presentations, grant writing, and other institutional initiatives. It pains me when I hear colleagues complain about such opportunities and whine about extra work or not getting compensated for projects outside of their normal workload. By failing to seize these types of opportunities, you limit your exposure to meet new colleagues across the institution, share resources, and impact students on a larger (or simply different) level.

Friendly Advice:

Don’t be the person who said, “Man…I wish I would have been a part of that!” Hindsight is always 20/20 so take on the prospective of keeping your eye open for opportunities as they arise. Even better, create opportunities rather than waiting for them.

Keep in mind that NOT every opportunity is a good one nor has to be pursued. Keep your options open and take advantage of those that will fulfill your department’s mission while also appealing to your own interests and expanding your student affairs experience.

5. Failing to Make a Difference – You are what you do; And if you’re not doing much, you’re not making a difference. I will share the same message with you that I try to impress upon student leaders: what are you creating, what are you changing, and what are you influencing? If you don’t have much to show during your next job interview other than a bland job description, others who have made an appreciable impact upon their institution will clearly win out.

Friendly Advice:

Like Stephen Covey stated, start with the end in mind. What difference do you want to make? Figure that out and work toward that end. Develop goals, write them down, and display them so you can see them daily. Also, create initiatives that you can assess. This way you can qualitatively and quantitatively illustrate the difference your work has made.

Don’t spin your wheels to impress colleagues. You’re there to impact student learning and retention (among other goals) and not create a club of cronies. As was the case with #2 above, stay clear of drama and concentrate on your work.

Contrary to popular belief, good people can destroy an organization as quick as their less noble counterparts. Good people in leadership positions often have the best intentions, but can unknowingly sabotage the organization’s efforts by perpetuating counterproductive practices. If you find yourself or your colleagues using the following tactics, you may want to reconsider how you are managing your organization.

1. Focusing on Feelings and Not Results – The hallmark of any high performing organization is the unrelenting focus on positive outcomes and results. Unfortunately, results can be sidelined unintentionally for people’s feelings, which will ultimately lead to agendas other than the goals of the organization. This can be as simple as a supervisor not confronting an employee for poor performance as to not “hurt their feelings.” Another example includes a department’s leadership passing on certain strategies because staffers may become upset by the resulting decisions even if they are advantageous to the organization. Organizations must focus on results and make smart decisions that lead to those ends.

2. “Good Guy” Hiring – I have encountered many colleagues who hired a candidate because they seemed to be “A good guy…” or “A nice girl…” I’ve even had a supervisor who demanded that my colleagues and I hire a handful of candidates because they were “good guys.” Someone that may have a nice personality in passing can end up being a nightmare employee. Furthermore, this “good guy” may not have the necessary skills to perform the job. Take the time to assess each candidate thoroughly prior to hiring. As the adage goes: fire fast, hire slow.

3. Being Unrealistically Optimistic – There’s a big difference between being optimistic and being delusional. Being unrealistically optimistic can prevent smart and quick decisions from being made that if not made can cause irreparable harm to the organization. Stay grounded in reality, plan accordingly, and make data-driven decisions.

4. Performing Favors – Constantly doing favors can be a slippery slope as typically exceptions are being made in some shape or form. This generally means a policy is being undermined or a double-standard is being created. This can easily destroy moral among employees and clients alike. Additionally, performing favors always translates into sacrificing time and or money.

5. Avoiding Tough Decisions – This goes back to focusing on feelings and not results; results depend upon making tough decisions. Smart and ethical decisions can be made even if they are difficult. While tactics such as cutting a budget or laying off a staffer are never fun, tough decisions of some shape or form will always need to be made by every organization. Delaying the inevitable can lead to bigger problems.

I became a teenage reader of Esquire magazine after an article on urinal etiquette in an issue my father had caught my eye. While the article was a humorous one, it served as a lead-in to pieces on dressing for any occasion, ordering guidelines at business luncheons, and how to network. These skills are what my father would often refer to as “the stuff no one teaches you in college.”

“[According to a York College or Pennsylvania Survey], 48.6% of human resource professionals believe that less than half of new employees show professionalism in their first year on the job. 35.9% said that the percentage of new workers that demonstrate this quality has decreased in the last five years.”

With spring graduation right around the corner, the dismal U.S. job market is soon to be flooded with the “new employees” Groux mentioned: Graduates who went to school believing a Bachelor’s degree would land them a “good job” right out of college. The reality is, however, that while a degree is a requirement for many positions, so too are a professional attitude, appearance, and demeanor. While it may be true that some universities offer courses in entrepreneurship, and most all have business clubs or fraternities, the fact is that no professor, teaching assistant, or academic advisor will provide you with the necessary skills to be a working professional.

So how can a soon-to-be or recent grad learn what it means to be professional? Here are three tactics I can recommend:

Internships & Student Activities

Two friends of mine interned in Phillip Morris’ New York office while they were undergrads. It was the experience gained in those internships combined with their active roles in student government (and not their average grades) that landed them jobs with that company making $90k+ salaries with amazing benefits and a fantastic relocation package.

Now I’m not saying that “big tobacco” is an industry everyone should look into, nor am I encouraging you to sacrifice your grades for work or activities. What I am advocating, however, is to add extra-curricular activities to your resume that will give you professional experience. Before joining the Underwater Basketweaving Club, take a look at working for your school newspaper or radio station to get experience in advertising and marketing, become a resident assistant to enhance a skill set in management, or take a job at your school library or computer lab if IT and operations is more your thing. Universities offer a way to gain whatever experience you may want – you just need to go out and look for it.

As for internships, try and find ones that will increase your marketability within the workforce (and potentially even the company you intern for.) In today’s economy more companies are willing to take on interns because interns tend to get paid either little or no money. While this can be frustrating for a struggling college student, college is all about “the long game.” While the internships my friends took didn’t pay much at all, they graduated from college with salaries that were some of the best among their peers. When looking for internships my suggestion is not to think “How can I work for no money?” but rather, “How will this add to my skill set when the internship ends?”

And as for the friends I mentioned? They’re both in their mid-thirties. One of them has stayed with Phillip Morris for the past ten or so years, makes six figures and has been a territory manager for the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest regions. The other went on to work for American Express before leaving to start his own travel business. Not bad for a couple of guys who decided to get involved in their school and take summer internships that didn’t pay them much at the time.

Find a Mentor

If I asked each of you to tell me who your mentor is, it’s safe to say many of you would draw a blank. If, however, I’d ask you who your hero is you’d probably tell me the name of an athlete, musician, or other celebrity. While I too have those types of heroes, one of my biggest heroes is someone you wouldn’t expect, my college resident director.

I’ll admit it to all of you here that initially I didn’t think about becoming a resident assistant out of some sense of purpose or nobility. I wanted free room & board. In my sophomore year of college, however, I met the resident director of my then girlfriend’s building and was taken aback by his personality. This wasn’t someone who wasn’t focused on “busting” you or yelling at you to obey the rules – this was a guy who made the resident experience fun by planning positive activities and interacting with residents on their level while at the same time teaching lessons and shaping the minds of the students who lived in his building. I knew then that was the type of person I wanted to be like, and when I heard he had an opening for an RA position in his building I applied, interviewed, and landed the job. We’ve remained friends, colleagues, and business partners for the past 13 years, and I still find myself looking to him for professional guidance, advice, and motivation.

A mentor is similar to a hero, but the best way to describe the difference is that a mentor is much more “human.” Heroes tend to be people we regard as god-like: athletes, musicians, movie stars, etc. These people are idolized for what is seen as as their perfect life, wealth, beauty, etc. A mentor is someone who has success or possesses qualities that others may strive for and who is down to earth enough to help lead others down the path they themselves took.

My mentor and I are not in the same industry, but he continues to provide me with professional insights that can cross into any field. Through his guidance I’ve learned how to be a leader and better public speaker, how to develop, manage, and train a staff, and how to handle stressful and emergency situations with ease. The skills he’s helped me develop have become invaluable to my career and I can’t thank him enough.

My suggestion to each of you is to make a list of the qualities you want to improve on or one day have and then make a second list of people you already know who have these qualities. Send them an email or make an appointment to see them and ask if they’d be willing to mentor you. Be open and honest with them. Tell them what you think your positive qualities are, what you’d like to work on, why you’d like them to be your mentor and what you think that mentoring would entail. Most people will be flattered at the idea, but it’s good to have a backup or two just in case scheduling is difficult. Just remember that a mentor is there to guide you. You don’t need to take everything they tell you as “gospel”, but you should try to be as open as possible to the advice they provide you with.

Read

I’m sure that with all the reading assignments you’ve had to endure though college, taking on more seems about as appealing as an axe to the head. This assignment is fun though: Read magazine articles on the topics or industry you’re interested in.

Smartphone and tablet apps like Editions, Flipboard, Pulse, and News Republic make pulling a stockpile of articles on any topic form many different sources easy and (thankfully) free! By far my favorite right now is Flipboard, which allows you to sync your social networks with current news and events and literally “flip” (with your finger) through them quickly. I have sections like sports, technology, business and entrepreneurship in my Flipboard account. As an example, my entrepreneurship section pulls articles from Forbes, Entrepreneur, and YE (Young Entrepreneur) magazines. I can choose to read one, none, or all of them.

The iPad-only app Editions is cool because it takes the same principle as Flipboard, but delivers your daily news in a magazine “edition” format. You’ll be notified when your edition is ready and can read it like any other digital version of a magazine. Very interactive and fun!

It is important to stay well informed. The more you stay informed on the industries you’re interested in becoming a part of, the more you’ll get used to the language people use in those industries and the easier it will be to have meaningful and topical discussions with interviewers in those industries. While there’s no guarantee that any one thing will help you land a job, I can tell you from my experience that employers love to hire people who are knowledge and well informed. An employee who stays up to date on the business sector they’re in stands out in the workplace.

There are many other ways to enhance your professional attitude, appearance and demeanor as well, but the above list is a great way to get started at little to no cost to you other than time. What are some other ways you might enhance your professionalism? Leave a reply in the comments below!